Starting out in Consulting.

What do successful consultants have in common? Let’s look at some of their qualities and interpersonal skills.

Qualifications count. And achievements too. Life stories and life successes will include the academic – all the way back to high school – but also your life outside school and work.

Consultants are bright people. But consultancies are not just focussing on the A* high school leaving certificate grades and upper quartile degree marks. They want to know what else you’ve done outside study. Supporting your community – however you define community – is a big plus. Sacrificing your own time/money to help others is highly regarded. So go on…what have you done in your life?

Consultants seem to be natural problem solvers. From completing the newspaper Sudoku to working out the pay-to-goal stats of their football team’s strikers, consultants like to find the answers to brain teasers.

Life-long learning: are you extending your capabilities and knowledge? It doesn’t matter if it is in your current professional field or not. Successful consultants seize the learning opportunities wherever they lie. Knowledge is power. And they strive to keep learning.

Consultancies and clients are complicated places. There are big egos – not just on the client side, but inside the firm too. How do you manage them? Building positive relationships with team members, partners/directors and client-side staff is an important life skill to learn.

Life on the road. Consultants are road warriors. Be it flying to the client site or scooting down the motorway, frequent travel is part of the deal for most consultants. Accept it -or suffer accordingly. So understand your firm’s expenses policy and use it to your advantage. And when your personal circumstances change, tell your manager.

Studying the LinkedIn profiles of the consultants at the firms you wants to join will help you understand the qualities of successful hire – and the culture of your target firm.

Good luck!

If you’d like to know more, please get in touch: + 44 (0) 203 051 8540 or don@donleslie.uk

Advice from Don

Drawing on my 30 years experience of recruiting strategy and management consultants with BLT, the leading management consultancy recruitment business, I act as an independent adviser to business schools and universities, MBAs and others, on careers in consultancy.

Talk to Don

Put your questions to me by email or arrange a time for a personal 1:1 conversation by Skype or telephone.